Just as summertime can symbolize endless possibility, autumn represents a period of transition. Kids leave summer camp and return to their classrooms for a new school year. Adults wind down summer vacations and return to the office with lasting memories. Juicy berries and ripe tomatoes give way to pumpkin spice and crisp apples. And the types of books I read change in the fall, too: I seek out stories where characters find themselves in situations where they must adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. In these recommended books, you can tag along as a brave novelist flees the growing Nazi regime in Berlin and stands up for what she believes in. You can find yourself caught in a time loop thanks to a magical snow globe, reliving the weeks leading up to Christmas. You can walk the halls of an English Victorian mansion with a psychologist who's convinced that the voices she’s hearing are from beyond the grave. And, in my very first non-fiction recommendation, you can find stardom with a country music legend!

Be sure to head on over to DownHomeReads.com for even more bookish fun, and look for my next round of recommendations in the magazine’s holiday issue! More Down Home Reads are on the way, so don’t go far, y’all!

Happy Reading,

Jodi Thomas